Nobita Nobi is a young boy who suffers from poor grades, frequent bullying and negative emotions like sadness and jealousy. Many years in the future, one of his descendants sends the robotic cat Doraemon back in time to protect and guide Nobita. Doraemon has a four-dimensional pocket from which he produces items known as gadgets, which range from toys and medicine, to technology from the future. Examples include the Bamboo-Copter (Japanese: Take-Koputa), a small piece of headgear that allows flight and the Anywhere Door (Japanese: Doko Demo Doa), a door that opens up to any place the user wishes.

Nobita's closest friend is Shizuka Minamoto, who also serves as his romantic interest and eventually becomes his wife. Nobita is usually tormented by the bullying Takeshi Goda (nicknamed "Gian"), and the cunning and arrogant Suneo Honekawa. A typical story consists of Doraemon using one of his gadgets in order to assist Nobita in various ways, often causing more trouble than he was trying to solve.